Dallas Stars right winger Mikko Rantanen took revenge against the team he used to see a future with for the long term.
Time ticked away in Rantanen's season as the Colorado Avalanche led the Stars 2-0 early in the third period. Just about 20 minutes later, it was Colorado's season that ended, and Rantanen was the biggest part of that happening.
"The belief in the group, the whole team of ours, there was no quitting at any point," Rantanen told ESPN's Emily Kaplan on the bench post-game.
First, let's rewind.
Rantanen was with the Avalanche for parts of 10 seasons. They drafted him 10th overall in 2015, and they won a Stanley Cup together in 2022. He recorded two 100-point seasons for them.
As January arrived without a contract in place for the then-pending UFA, the Avalanche traded him to the Carolina Hurricanes in a three-team blockbuster involving the Chicago Blackhawks. Rantanen told reporters in mid-March he never wanted to leave Colorado.
Rantanen didn't sign a new contract with the Hurricanes, so they traded him to the Stars at the NHL trade deadline. Rantanen signed an eight-year contract with a $12-million cap hit to stay in Dallas for the long term.
Fast forward to April, and Rantanen's Stars faced his former team, the Avalanche, in the first round.
Colorado struck first in Game 1. The Stars won the following two games.
Colorado tied it. Dallas took the lead again. Colorado tied it again.
During that time, Rantanen recorded two goals and eight points in six games. He already made a mark in the later stages of the series, with three points in Game 5 and four points in Game 6.
It all led up to a Game 7 on Saturday night, with less than 13 minutes left in the third period. The Stars were still not on the scoreboard.
Rantanen changed that.
He walked into the offensive zone and took a snapshot that beat Avalanche goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, cutting the deficit to one.
His teammate, Matt Duchene, received a penalty for tripping Martin Necas, who went from Carolina to Colorado in the initial Rantanen deal. But Cale Makar got a tripping penalty to force 4-on-4 play and a Stars power play when Duchene hit the ice.
Rantanen once again took matters into his own hands. He skated around the net and scored on a wraparound while taking contact from Blackwood and falling to the ice. Just like that, it was a tie game, and Rantanen reignited the Stars crowd.
An all time revenge game from Mikko Rantanen 👏 pic.twitter.com/RaUOjb5wFB
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The game could have went to overtime for the third time in the series, but Avalanche center Jack Drury, who also went to Colorado from Carolina, got a holding penalty. Dallas went back to the power play.
With four minutes left in the third frame, Rantanen found Duchene in the bumper position beside Blackwood's left post. Duchene then passed the puck past Blackwood and two Avs defenders to Wyatt Johnston. The 21-year-old finished the tic-tac-toe by beating Blackwood to complete the comeback and take a 3-2 lead. Rantanen earned the secondary assist.
As the Avalanche pulled the goalie to try to score with the extra attacker, Rantanen got the puck with seconds remaining in the series to secure the hat trick, the first one in the third period of a Game 7 in NHL history.
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Rantanen's Stars looked like they were heading out of the playoffs. They're now sending the Avalanche home with their eighth straight Game 7 loss.
After the Stars celebrated, they shook hands with the Avalanche players. Rantanen called it an emotional moment.
"They're my brothers, you know?" Rantanen said. "I still love every one of them. Obviously, we were enemies in the series on the ice, but they're my dear friends off the ice."
The Stars now await the winner of Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and St. Louis Blues on Sunday.
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